Investors in the digital wallets provider Curve are embroiled in a furious row over the proceeds from the company’s impending £120m sale to Lloyds Banking Group.
Sky News has learnt that a number of shareholders in Curve have told the company’s board they object to the proposed distribution of the funds triggered by a deal which is expected to be announced as soon as this week.
The £120m sale price represents only about half of the total funding raised by Curve since the company was created a decade ago.
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One fintech industry source said recriminations between investors and the company had become so heated in recent weeks that at least one investor had sought the removal of Lord Fink, the City grandee, as Curve’s chairman.
Earlier this week, Sky News revealed that Lloyds was closing in on a deal to buy Curve.
The bank hopes the acquisition will give it an edge in the race to build smarter online payments systems amid growing regulatory pressure on Apple to open its payment services to rivals.
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Curve was founded by Shachar Bialick, a former Israeli special forces soldier, in 2016, and was hailed as one of Britain’s most promising fintechs.
Three years later, Mr Bialick told an interviewer: “In 10 years time we are going to be IPOed [listed on the public equity markets]… and hopefully worth around $50bn to $60bn.”
Curve’s publicly disclosed shareholders include Britannia, IDC Ventures, Cercano Management – the venture arm of Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen’s estate – and Outward VC.
It was unclear on Wednesday which shareholders had expressed disquiet over the planned distribution of the sale proceeds.
One source said that Mr Bialick had recently written to shareholders to acknowledge that the price was disappointing and warned that the company would probably run out of money this year unless a sale to Lloyds was agreed.
When he was appointed to the role in January, Lord Fink said: “Working alongside Curve as an investor, I have had a ringside seat to the company’s unassailable and well-earned rise.
“Beginning as a card which combines all your cards into one, to the all-encompassing digital wallet it has evolved into, Curve offers a transformative financial management experience to its users.
“I am proud to have been part of the journey so far, and welcome the chance to support the company through its next, very significant period of growth.”
IDC Ventures, one of the investors in Curve’s Series C funding round, said at the time of its last major fundraising: “Thanks to their unique technology…they have the capability to intercept the transaction and supercharge the customer experience, with its Double Dip Rewards, [and] eliminating nasty hidden fees.
“And they do it seamlessly, without any need for the customer to change the cards they pay with.”
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Curve refused to respond to a series of requests seeking comment.
